BP: More claims, more money

Published: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 05:17 PM.

PENSACOLA — “Fifty-eight million in free unadulterated dollars is going to hit” Northwest Florida in the near future, BP Claims Administrator Patrick Juneau announced Tuesday.

Juneau told a group of business people and elected officials that the funds will be used to resolve 1,099 of 11,214 claims filed against BP in the “region around Pensacola.”

Juneau, who on June 4 replaced Ken Feinberg as the man in charge of distributing BP dollars to parties suffering economic or property damage from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also promised more money was on the way.

“There’s going to be millions and millions of dollars,” he predicted during the meeting at Pensacola State College. “What you’re going to see is the number of eligible business claims continue to rise. I think we’ll see many more in the next two weeks.”

Juneau, who has faced criticism for moving too slowly to begin resolving claims after taking over for the controversial Feinberg, said the team he installed to replace the Gulf Coast Claims Facility is just gearing up to face a daunting task head-on.

“As an attorney I’ve been involved in some big cases … this exceeds everything I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Did I know it was big? Yes. Did I know how big? No.”

Juneau said his organization presently is tasked with processing 60,000 damage claims from business interests and individuals scattered along the Gulf Coast from Naples to Bridge City, Texas.

But he said his task will be made easier because his team doesn’t have the “latitude” Feinberg had.

The funds Juneau will distribute will come from a legal settlement with BP.

The claims process Juneau has inherited is much different than the one used by his predecessor. The legal group that set up the system insisted it be done in a way that was fair across the board.

It established zones so that homes and businesses most directly affected by the oil spill will be better compensated. The group also created a formula through which damages can be assessed.

“This is as detailed a settlement agreement as you will find in the U.S. … They wanted to achieve continuity,” Juneau told the gathering. “The mandate I have is very meticulous.”

All claimants deemed eligible will be paid, although BP has a right of appeal, Juneau said.

He also said the process covers a much wider spectrum of claims than the one administered by Feinberg.

“There are thousands of legitimate bona fide claims that have not been filed,” he said. “My rule is, when in doubt, file.”

Juneau said that since June 4 his team has been doing what it could to settle old claims while building the computer programs and a workforce to handle the new claims process. At “the tail end” of what he termed an “elaborate system,” Juneau said claims would start to be paid.

“My goal was to make payments, and we made our first payments in July of this year,” he said. “In the past two weeks our numbers have spiked. We’re going to see some spikes in the next two weeks.”

As of last Thursday, 7,144 claims had been declared eligible, and by Monday more than $422 million was approved for distribution, Juneau said.

Seven thousand remains a far cry from 60,000, Juneau conceded. He said that processing individual claims is being delayed because 90 percent of them don’t include the proper paperwork.

A deadline for parties seeking to opt out of the legal settlement administered by Juneau has been set for Nov. 1.

Jay and Nash Patel, representing 3,000 claims on behalf of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, told Juneau Tuesday that their group was considering the opt-out.

The hotel group is considering initiating legal action of its own, the Patels said.

The association’s frustration lies with the claims processors’ insistence that owners provide documents proving reservation denials or cancellations, they said.

“We don’t have denials and cancelled reservations,” the Patels said, pointing out that hotel losses were borne out during the oil spill by rooms that simply weren’t filled.

Steve Riggs, a managing partner with the accounting firm of Carr, Riggs and Ingram, said later that questions still linger over when the money approved will actually start flowing into local economies.

But it looks certain now that it will, he said, “and when it does it’s really going to have an impact on our economy.”

“What’s been frustrating to us is that when the businesses don’t get paid the attorneys don’t get paid, and when the attorneys don’t get paid the CPAs don’t get paid,” he said. “Next year, though, there’s going to be a tremendous amount of money being pumped into the Northwest Florida economy.”

PENSACOLA — “Fifty-eight million in free unadulterated dollars is going to hit” Northwest Florida in the near future, BP Claims Administrator Patrick Juneau announced Tuesday.

Juneau told a group of business people and elected officials that the funds will be used to resolve 1,099 of 11,214 claims filed against BP in the “region around Pensacola.”

Juneau, who on June 4 replaced Ken Feinberg as the man in charge of distributing BP dollars to parties suffering economic or property damage from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also promised more money was on the way.

“There’s going to be millions and millions of dollars,” he predicted during the meeting at Pensacola State College. “What you’re going to see is the number of eligible business claims continue to rise. I think we’ll see many more in the next two weeks.”

Juneau, who has faced criticism for moving too slowly to begin resolving claims after taking over for the controversial Feinberg, said the team he installed to replace the Gulf Coast Claims Facility is just gearing up to face a daunting task head-on.

“As an attorney I’ve been involved in some big cases … this exceeds everything I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Did I know it was big? Yes. Did I know how big? No.”

Juneau said his organization presently is tasked with processing 60,000 damage claims from business interests and individuals scattered along the Gulf Coast from Naples to Bridge City, Texas.

But he said his task will be made easier because his team doesn’t have the “latitude” Feinberg had.

The funds Juneau will distribute will come from a legal settlement with BP.

The claims process Juneau has inherited is much different than the one used by his predecessor. The legal group that set up the system insisted it be done in a way that was fair across the board.

It established zones so that homes and businesses most directly affected by the oil spill will be better compensated. The group also created a formula through which damages can be assessed.

“This is as detailed a settlement agreement as you will find in the U.S. … They wanted to achieve continuity,” Juneau told the gathering. “The mandate I have is very meticulous.”

All claimants deemed eligible will be paid, although BP has a right of appeal, Juneau said.

He also said the process covers a much wider spectrum of claims than the one administered by Feinberg.

“There are thousands of legitimate bona fide claims that have not been filed,” he said. “My rule is, when in doubt, file.”

Juneau said that since June 4 his team has been doing what it could to settle old claims while building the computer programs and a workforce to handle the new claims process. At “the tail end” of what he termed an “elaborate system,” Juneau said claims would start to be paid.

“My goal was to make payments, and we made our first payments in July of this year,” he said. “In the past two weeks our numbers have spiked. We’re going to see some spikes in the next two weeks.”

As of last Thursday, 7,144 claims had been declared eligible, and by Monday more than $422 million was approved for distribution, Juneau said.

Seven thousand remains a far cry from 60,000, Juneau conceded. He said that processing individual claims is being delayed because 90 percent of them don’t include the proper paperwork.

A deadline for parties seeking to opt out of the legal settlement administered by Juneau has been set for Nov. 1.

Jay and Nash Patel, representing 3,000 claims on behalf of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, told Juneau Tuesday that their group was considering the opt-out.

The hotel group is considering initiating legal action of its own, the Patels said.

The association’s frustration lies with the claims processors’ insistence that owners provide documents proving reservation denials or cancellations, they said.

“We don’t have denials and cancelled reservations,” the Patels said, pointing out that hotel losses were borne out during the oil spill by rooms that simply weren’t filled.

Steve Riggs, a managing partner with the accounting firm of Carr, Riggs and Ingram, said later that questions still linger over when the money approved will actually start flowing into local economies.

But it looks certain now that it will, he said, “and when it does it’s really going to have an impact on our economy.”

“What’s been frustrating to us is that when the businesses don’t get paid the attorneys don’t get paid, and when the attorneys don’t get paid the CPAs don’t get paid,” he said. “Next year, though, there’s going to be a tremendous amount of money being pumped into the Northwest Florida economy.”